Tuesday, May 4, 2010
        Dr. Dwight Chasar, "Chemistry is for the Birds"      
        Education night activities:
                Recognition of Science Fair Winners, Project SEED Students.
                Presentation of the Gene Easter Award for exemplary chemistry teaching
                to Sandra K. McClain of Manchester High School.
       Recogniton of 50- and 60 Year Members

        Tangier  Restaurant, 532 W. Market St., downtown Akron
             Social hour 5:30; dinner 6:30; program 7:30 PM

- Dinner Reservations: Contact Ann Bolek at (330) 972-6264 or This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it by noon on Friday, Apr 30. 
- Dinner costs are $18 for members and $5 for students.
  Dinner reservations made after the deadline will be put on a waiting list.
- The program is free and open to the public.

Abstract - "Chemistry is for the Birds" by Dr. Dwight Chasar          

 Chemists like to think that chemistry is the central science. Recently, avian biologists and some chemists have examined more closely the chemistry associated with birds, using the tools we chemists have used for years to better understand facets of bird life and behavior. This presentation will discuss some recent as well as older research into this chemistry. The chemical pigments that give birds color, the chemicals that birds use for survival in the wild, chemicals that nearly extirpated raptors, and the use of stable isotopes to understand bird migration will be discussed. From the simplicity of bird poop to the complexity of bird DNA analysis, chemistry is playing a big role in understanding bird dynamics. Along the way, bird photos should brighten up the chemistry discussions. This Powerpoint presentation should cover enough chemistry to satisfy general interest chemists while being simple enough for non-chemists and students to understand and appreciate the beauty and complexity of chemistry and birds.

Bio - Dr. Dwight Chasar
 
Dwight Chasar obtained his PhD in organic chemistry from Case Western Reserve University in 1968. After a post-doctoral stint and military service, he taught organic chemistry at the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown for three years. Then he joined the BFGoodrich Co in 1974 as an R&D chemist, succeeding to the highest technical level of R&D Fellow. His research centered around polymer stabilization, nitrosamine formation in rubber, and vulcanization accelerators for rubber. He continued in this capacity through successive owners of the business, eventually retiring from Emerald Performance Materials in 2007. He holds 24 patents and presented and published a number of papers at technical meetings and in technical journals, respectively. He became interested in bird watching about 25 years ago and has not looked back. He leads bird walks for a number of groups, including the Cuyahoga Valley National Park, and organizes or participates in a number of bird censuses and breeding bird studies. He has served on the Ohio Birds Record Committee for four years. He has published papers and given talks on his bird field work, historical aspects of birds, and travels to observe birds in other countries. A member of the American Chemical Society since 1965, he has been active both locally in the Cleveland Section and nationally as a councilor from Cleveland.